The Lucky Ones

This is a pretty solid movie here by Neil Burger, acted by Tim Robbins, Michael Pena and Rachel McAdams. I liked the performances and some of the dialogue but it's messy at times and too coincidental at others. I was happy at some parts of the film, but it was never complete.

Grade: C+

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

This is a very good film here, surrounded by an all-star cast. Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina and Penelope Cruz all do a terrific job in their quite different roles. This is one of my favorite casts of the year. The film is about love, life, art and sex, and the maturity and immaturity that stems from it. It tells the tale of a few people and their ideologies on love and relationships in a very counter-cultural fashion. The script by Woody Allen is true art and he seems to be gaining a lot of strenght with his new type of film. Penelope Cruz would be my favorite supporting role so far this year, she is exceptional.

This film is now 3rd on my list behind Slumdog Millionaire and The Visitor and ahead of The Dark Knight. Good work all around.

Grade: A-

A few underrated films.....

These are some great reccomendations by (*who else) me!

"A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" written and directed by Dito Montiel
"Full Frontal" and "Bubble" both by Steven Soderbergh
"Sorry, Haters" written and directed by Jeff Stanzler
"The Big Lebowski" by The Coen Brothers.
"C.R.A.Z.Y" directed by Jean-Marc Vallee(Canada)
"Zero Day" by Ben Coccio
"Best In Show" Directed by Christopher Guest
"L.I.E" by Michael Cuesta
"Shortbus" by John Cameron Mitchell
"The Station Agent" by Tom McCarthy
"Chasing Amy" by Kevin Smith
"Swimming With Sharks" by George Huang
"Big Night" by Stanley Tucci
"The Opposite of Sex" by Don Roos
"Wonder Boys" by Curtis Hanson
"Hurlyburly" by Anthony Drazan
"Election" by Alexander Payne
"Go" by Doug Liman
"Boiler Room" by Ben Younger
"Ghost World" by Terry Zwigoff
"The Believer" by Henry Bean
"The Anniversary Party" by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh
"Igby Goes Down" by Burr Steers
"The Good Girl" by Mike White
"Y Tu Mama Tambien" by Alfonso Cuaron
"Shattered Glass" by Billy Ray
"Raising Victor Vargas" by Peter Sollett
"Thirteen" by Catherine Hardwicke
"In America" by Jim Sheridan
"Quinceanera" by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
"Tarnation" by Jonathan Caouette
"Before Sunset" and "Before Sunrise" by Richard Linklater
"Garden State" by Zach Braff
"Brick" by Rian Johnson
"The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" by Guillermo Arriaga
"Thumbsucker" by Mike Mills
Half Nelson by "Ryan Fleck"
Nine Lives by Rodrigo Garcia
American Gun by Aric Avellino
"Interview" by Steve Buscemi
"Paper Clips" by Joe Fab